You may have noticed that Benny is a lot like Jimmy, and that is because it originally was Jimmy until I realised the timeline wouldn't work.
Blue eyes locked on silvery-blue before the latter eyes disappeared, making the former widen in shock. The blonde stared at the cluster of clothing that still held the shape of a human. She looked at the adults, noticing that the second in command of the British sanctuary, the technology genius and the man in charge of tracking and capturing Abnormals were all at a loss whilst her mother, James and the other Abnormal, Benny, were just chuckling at the display.
She hopped off her chair, moving around the table, towards the clothing on the invisible bean. "Mum, it's got my clothing!" whined the child, watching as the sleeves of her orange shirt, the one with the 'cute', black swirls, moved towards the table, and the chair was pushed back. She reached out, attempting to grab the invisible wrist.
The moment her hand clasped over the bone, she saw the other sleeve swing down, hitting her hand, before a pants leg came out and she felt a kick to her stomach, sending her backwards and onto her bum. The clothing then jumped over the back of the chair, running to the door.
James caught the bundle before it was able to make an exit, though it was struggling. Helen went over to the blonde who was wiping tears from her eyes. The brunette mother pulled out a handkerchief and started to wipe the face of the eight-year-old as her friend shushed the invisible girl who was starting to turn visible again.
"It stole my cloths," snuffled the little girl, pointing to the now visible brunette who was hugging James and looking frightened.
"Ashley," scolded Helen. "That girl has a name, Prudence, and Prudence is not an it! She is James' daughter, which makes her family. I thought you wouldn't mind lending clothing to family, seeing as she had none of her own." Helen then led her daughter over to Prudence, who was attempting to bury herself into James.
"You're a Watson?" questioned Ashley, studying what little of Prudence she could see.
Prudence looked up at James, not knowing the answer. In response, James smiled and answered for her. "Yes, this is Prudence Watson." He nudged her out of his arms so that she would face Ashley. "This is Ashley Magnus, Helen's daughter."
Prudence tentatively extended her hand to Ashley, so that she could shake it. Instead, Ashley surprised her by pulling her into a hug. Prudence quickly turned invisible again, making the blonde girl look confused.
"She's shy," spoke up Benny, forking his pancake, nonchalant.
Prudence turned visible again as James led her to her seat. When situated, she leant over her armrest, studying the devise on his chest. He allowed her to look, and even run her fingers over the mechanism. He had a feeling she could already tell what it was for, every last piece, and what its components were.
"I didn't know you had a child," spoke his second, making James look away from his daughter and look at the other man.
"Neither did I, until she found me." He chuckled as Prudence went back to eating her breakfast.
When she had first sat down at the table, she had looked at everyone as though they would hurt her if she put descent food on her plate. She had grabbed a dry piece of toast and taken two bites before putting it on her plate.
James had quickly filled her plate with fruit, pancakes and bacon, seeing which she liked. She seemed to like all of it.
"She's cute," stated the technology support, smiling at the young child as she bit into a juicy piece of watermelon. "She looks a lot like you," she assured, before going back to her breakfast.
"I'm glad you don't like pink," Ashley gushed. "I hate pink too. But I do like dresses every now and then, but you didn't get any dresses."
"I have one, that is enough," assured Prudence, walking into the Sanctuary behind Helen, who was carrying the bags.
They had gone shopping with James' money to purchase clothing for Prudence, seeing as when Ashley and Helen left in two days time, Ashley would be taking her clothing with her. They had spent a fair bit of money, which Prudence complained about, seeing as she did not want James to become mad at her. Helen, of course, assured Prudence that James would simply be happy that she is clothed and that she was enjoying her time.
She and Ashley bonded, as only children could, over the fact that they both had a parent who ran a Sanctuary. There was not much else that they had in common, besides their dislike of pink, seeing as Prudence had a love of knowledge, whilst Ashley had a love for physical activities. None the less, they were close by the time they returned to the house Prudence would learn to call home.
"You have to come to Old City some time, you can stay for a couple of weeks," said Ashley, sitting down on the bed as Helen started putting away the clothing. "She can, can't she, mum?"
Helen looked at the girl who was next to her, taking tags off clothing, folding them and putting them, away. "Ashley, give Prudence time to settle in and give James a chance to get to know her, but she will always be welcome when she is ready."
"Thank you, Helen," whispered Prudence, smoothing out a top similar to the one she had borrowed from Ashley.
Over the past two weeks, Helen had realised that Prudence had impeccable gramma for her age and was rather mature. She also had a high thirst for knowledge, burning through new information at a fast rate. Helen and James often joked that she could give Nikola a run for his money. They had also wondered what they would tell her when she started questioning their abilities and age. They knew that saying it was some defect with their blood would not work like it had on Ashley, she would want the truth.
Once the clothing was away, the girls made their way to the study, knowing James would be there either working, or reading. When they entered, they found him sitting in an armchair breathing shallowly as he modified the settings on his metal skeleton. He quickly finished when he saw the females entering and noticed how Prudence was staring at it. She had studied it before, so he had a feeling she knew what it did and how it worked, the last thing he wanted was for her to realise it was breaking down. He could easily hide it from Ashley and even Helen, but not the child that had inherited his Source Blood charged brain.
"Did you all have fun?" he asked, closing his shirt and sitting up straight, smiling at the women.
"Yes, we bought a lot of clothing for Prudence, she should be set until winter, then you will have to take her shopping again." Helen chuckled at her friend's groan. He had never been a fan of shopping, especially with females, though she was sure he would love to spend time with his daughter without Ashley jumping in to draw her attention away.
"James."
The two adults looked over at the small voice, expecting to see Ashley, even with the accent. Pain flickered across James' face when they saw Prudence.
"Thank you," she added, smiling at him happily. She either did not notice, or chose to ignore her father's anguish at being addressed by his first name. They should not have been surprised, seeing as she had only known him for almost two weeks, but the two adults had thought she had connected with James on an intellectual level and was thrilled to have him as her father.
"You are welcome," sighed the man. "I am going to go rest before dinner. Helen, try not to destroy the place whilst I am asleep. I do consider this place my home and I like the décor the way it is."
"I will do my best," chimed Helen, giving her friend a sad smile.
They all dispersed, James retreating to his quarters, Helen going to her temporary office to have a conference call it her Sanctuary, and Ashley and Prudence running off to explore more of the building. It was not until an hour later, when Ashley came wondering into her mother's office that Helen wondered what the girls were doing.
"Where is Prudence?" she questioned, looking at her daughter who shrugged. Helen then checked the security camera's, finding nothing. Feeling that she should wake James and allow him to help search for his daughter, for he would be angered if they did not wake him now, they made the journey to his room.
Upon opening the door, they saw Prudence, kneeling beside her father on the bed, fiddling with the devise that kept him alive. When she heard them enter she ceased her actions and looked over at them before jumping off the bed, scurrying under the king sized frame.
"I am sorry," she yelped during her retreat, waking James with a start. "I will not do it again."
Helen hurried to her friend's side, only to find that the machine was functioning at a higher capacity than before. She and James exchanged looks of bewilderment before Helen crouched down to try and retrieve Prudence from under the bed.
Unfortunately, the young girl was smart, for she was huddled at the head of the bed in the centre. She could not be easily reached by either female on either side of the bed. In the dark all they could truly see were her light coloured eyes, filled with tears, her whole body seeming to tremble.
"I am sorry, I am sorry," she whimpered, curling into herself as much as possible. "I am sorry."
"Darling," hushed Helen, reaching out to her.
"No," screamed the little brunette, moving further away.
When she realised that Prudence was not going to be coaxed out of her hiding place, Helen reached out, under the bed and grabbed the girl's arm as quickly as she could. She felt horrible once Prudence started kicking and screaming as though she was going to be beaten, but she had to get her out.
"NO! NO!" yelled the child, fighting against Helen's hold. "I AM SORRY! PLEASE! I AM SORRY!" She had tears streaming down her face as she drowned out Helen's and James' words of comfort with her own, frantic claims of remorse. "I AM SORRY! PLEASE, DAD..." She stopped screaming, horror covering her face, her skin tone paling.
James looked stunned before a smile cross his face. He noted how Prudence was shaking, her eyes downcast as she feebly tried to break from Helen's grip. He swung his legs off the bed and put his hands on either side of Prudence's waist before motioning for Helen to let her go. "Sweetheart, please relax, you are not in trouble."
"I... I used my ability," confessed Prudence in a soft voice. "I am not meant to... and I called you..."
"Prudence, did Lizzie not let you call her Mum?" questioned James, drawing her closer as he comforted her. When his daughter shook her head, he sighed. "You can call me Dad as long as you feel I am being one. As for your ability, I have never felt better. This devise was failing me, you have fixed it."
Prudence smiled modestly as she reached out and altered some of the settings, making his breathing easier. "You are my father? And you encourage my powers?"
"Of course, you are highly gifted and a treasure to have." When James noticed Prudence turning invisible in response to the praise, he drew her into a hug. "Never hide your abilities when here."
"Very well... Dad."
Helen smiled, delighted for her friend, before silently ushering her own daughter out of the room.
"Now what did you do to this thing?" questioned James, gesturing to his chest. "Because I have been trying to fix it for months."
Prudence's laughter filled the room before she started explaining in a slow voice, as though James could not understand in any other way. In response to her teasing, James started tickling her, stopping her words easily.
"You know, sometimes I believe you are too much like Nigel for your own good," contemplated the man as her caused his daughter to howl with laughter.
Thanks to everyone for the reviews, looking forward to more.